1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image processing apparatuses and methods therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the problems with color printers is that colors change from page to page due to mechanical variations or the like when the same image is printed many times in a continuous manner (hereinafter referred to as “continuous printing”).
In order to reduce changes in colors, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-030422 discloses the technique of monitoring the state of a printer engine currently performing continuous printing and, when a change in color occurs, immediately suspending the continuous printing and performing a calibration operation. With this technique, colors in continuous printing become stable.
However, the foregoing technique requires suspension of the continuous printing. Together with a time involved in the calibration operation, the foregoing technique requires a long time to complete printing. Since calibration is periodically performed, there may be a local increase in color difference from page to page.